Two days ago, Rafael Dos Anjos defeated Anthony Pettis to become the UFC's first Brazilian lightweight champion in spite of being a heavy underdog. However, here's the real kicker: he fought injured.
During a post-fight interview on Fox Sports 1 with Ariel Helwani, Dos Anjos admitted that he tore his MCL during training. In other words, he really messed up his knee. An injury like that would force most competitive Mixed Martial Artists to pull out of a match. During his interview, Dos Anjos admitted that he considered pulling out of his own fight, but prayed to God first. God told him to fight anyway, and that he would be fine. So in spite of being unable to grapple or wrestle for three weeks before his fight, this "Brazilian David" chose to battle the Goliath known as Anthony "Showtime" Pettis. Not only did he win, but he completely dominated Pettis for the entire fight, ironically, with his grappling.
Many of us who join for the battle for sexual purity are, like Dos Anjos, fighting injured. Our injuries may be mental (i.e. porn or "romance novels"), physical (previous illicit encounters with the opposite or same gender), emotional (getting dumped by a boyfriend who didn't want to wait until marriage for sex or ditched by a girlfriend who found a guy with more money), or spiritual (dealing with church members who won't forgive you for your past or encourage you to pursue a godly future, or even worse, encountering demonic activity). These wounds may tempt us to give up on purity entirely. However, the good news is that purity is still possible, no matter what we have done and no matter what has happened to us in our past.
The same Jesus Christ who gave victory to Rafael Dos Anjos at UFC 185 is the same Jesus who will, if we believe in Him, give us victory in the "octagon" of sexual purity!
This does not mean that we should take foolish risks. Just like Dos Anjos had to stop grappling for a while to keep his injury from getting worse before UFC 185, we must limit our training when it comes to romance to keep our injuries from getting worse. For example, we may not be able to have a romantic relationship for at least six months because we are still recovering from past traumas or self-inflicted wounds. And just like some athletes have to get surgery and physical therapy to recover from injuries, we may need to counseling and other professional services to help us deal with the injuries we sustain as sexual purity "athletic competitors."
Nonetheless, we should never give up in our quest for the undisputed championship titles of "The Sexual Force Unleashed" and "Romantic World Peace" within a godly marriage. For, as Dos Anjos shouted from the top of the cage after his victory, "Through Jesus, you can do all things!"
1 Samuel 17:45, "David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied." (NIV)
